Sanctuary
by Beckleses
Summary: Draco Malfoy has been missing since he left Azkaban 6 years ago. Hermione, needing a break from the wizarding world and all it means to be a war heroine, moves to a remote village near the English coast. While she's settling in she quickly finds that she's not the only person who thought the beautiful village would make a wonderful sanctuary from the past.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey! So this is my first ever fanfic and as such I should probably start by apologising if it's awful! I'd really love your reviews and opinions. Also I just wanted to give a hugely admiring nod to **TheMourningMadam.** She has been wonderful in inspiring me to be brave enough to actually get writing, rather than keep just thinking about it and also writes the absolute best Dramione stories. Please go and take a read!

Chapter 1:

Hermione loved her new cottage. She loved everything about it, including how close to the sea it was, and more importantly how far away from London it was. The wizarding community in this part of Dorset was next to non existent and that meant that when she was here she was no longer Hermione Granger of The Golden Trio, no longer a war heroine, she was just Hermione Granger. She had taken a years sabbatical from her job as History of Magic teacher at Hogwarts and it was easy to tell the Muggles she was taking a year off of working as a History teacher to rethink her future. She'd claim inheritance if it was ever wondered as to how she managed financially.

Shutting the door to her cottage she walked towards the bakery. It really was a tiny village and so very old and beautiful. There was a small seaside town about 5 miles down the road for when she needed something more than a few rolls and some milk.

She felt so free here as she walked down the little street. After the war, becoming such a prominent figure in the wizarding world for the last few years she needed to feel able to breathe, and here she could breathe. She could be anonymous. The whole future lay in front of her and she was seriously considering her future in reality as well as in her cover story. For now though, she planned just to be still…to relax and enjoy the beautiful village and its surrounding areas and to indulge herself in just being herself outside the worlds of war and unwanted fame.

Having only arrived the afternoon before and just having had time to unpack, this was the first time she'd ventured into to village since she was last there two months ago, when she bought the cottage. She'd spent some time on the internet in a muggle library researching places she may like to live, eventually settling on the tiny village of Langton Matravers in Dorset. Once she knew where she was headed she called an Estate Agent and had him pick some houses and cottages out for her to choose from when she visited. Hers was the easy pick of the bunch, tucked away at the far end of the village, set a little way back from the tiny road. It was small and cosy and exactly what she wanted. She didn't need excessive space or luxury, though at this point in her life she could easily afford it-the Ministry had bestowed quite a sum on each of the Golden Trio after the war. She just wanted a little sanctuary of her own. Her sweet little two bedroomed cottage was perfect.

The smell wafted down the road to her from the bakery and her tummy growled in response. The bakery was set in a small square that made up the centre of the village along with a post office, a village store and a bookshop among a few other wonderful little places…a muggle apothecary (she assumed selling herbs and teas and the like), a shop full of crystals and fossils, and the entrance to the most beautiful gothic looking church Hermione had ever seen. There were some tables and chairs outside of the bakery and Hermione decided instead of just buying her bread and taking it straight home that she would sit and eat in the square.

"Hello love," the woman behind the counter beamed at Hermione when she entered. Hermione guessed her age to be around her mid 30's and judging by the ring on her finger and the wonderful smile on her face, to be happily married. It was a habit of Hermione's, to gather as much information as she could, as quickly as she could.

"Hi! It smells incredible in here!" Hermione all but swooned in return.

"That's the only problem with working in here. You become immune to the smell after a while. Unfortunately you don't become as immune to the calories!" the woman threw her head back as she laughed and Hermione instantly took a liking to her.

"Well in that case I'm definitely not after a job! I'll stick to a Pain au Chocolat and a coffee with cream please. Actually, make that two Pain au Chocolat. Just this once, though!" Hermionie was celebrating her freedom today and this seemed a good way to start.

"I'll remember that next time you ask for two! I'm Marie by the way." The woman was still smiling, accentuating her beautiful and kind features, her dark hair fighting to escape the messy bun she had piled it away in.

"I'm Hermione, I just moved in at the top of the village." Hermione could help but grin in return, Marie's friendliness was infectious and she hoped they'd become friends.

"Oh it's you that's moved in up there is it! Well welcome, let me know if there's anything I can help you with." She handed back her change and after Hermione thanked her she turned and headed towards one of the tables outside.

As she sat at the little table and worked her way through her startlingly unhealthy breakfast she felt deeply relaxed and almost meditative. It was a Saturday morning and so there was light but steady foot traffic and people watching was one of her favourite hobbies. There were all kinds of people that passed through the square in the time she sat there; old and young, some reserved and refined looking, some that wore flowing colourful clothes, families, couples…but the one thing they had in common was how happy and relaxed they all looked. Though she supposed it would be difficult not to look happy and relaxed in such a lovely, quaint village on such a beautiful May morning.

After breakfast she decided to take a wonder through the few small shops. Inside the crystal shop was the most beautiful array of colours imaginable…stones of every shape and size, some carved into shapes of animals, some polished, and some in their natural form. Hermione was a little overwhelmed by all the incredible options and ended up leaving with nothing more than a book on the subject. After perusing the bookshop, which housed books both old and new and where she was sure to be spending plenty of time, she made her way to the village store and bought some essentials to take home. Later she would visit the town nearby and stock the cupboards more sufficiently but for now she had enough for tea, coffee and lunch, and that would do.

As she made her way back through the village she thought she'd probably better call Harry and Ron once she got home as she'd promised. She'd bullied them both into getting muggle mobile phones about a year back and was so glad she had as it made life much easier. Ginny had helped her as she was far more open to all things muggle than her brother was. In Harry's defence, he obviously wasn't opposed to muggle things either, he was just a bit of a technophobe all round.

Harry and Ginny had married two years earlier, when Harry was 23. It had been such a beautiful day, at The Burrow of course. Ginny had surprised everyone and decided that she would rather work as a Healer, than playing Quidditch as she had aspired to before the war. Harry had surprised absolutely no one and of course gone on to Auror training at first possible opportunity, as had Ron. It was significantly more of a surprise though when he dropped out of the training after the first few months and re-joined Hermione and Ginny at Hogwarts to finish his education. After this he went on to study wandlore and wand making, eventually opening his own shop in Diagon Alley where Ollivanders had once been. Hermione and Ginny had been so happy, it was right for Harry-he'd seen too much war, violence and hardship. The fact that, like his now wife, he'd decided not to follow the obvious path life laid out for him was a welcome surprise.

Hermione and Ron however had gone on to do just what was expected, Hermione a teacher and Ron an Auror. Admittedly Ron, despite not having natural skill, did very well in Auror training and went on to be a fantastic Auror. What he'd lacked in skill to begin with he made up for in enthusiasm and experience that most (luckily for them) lacked. He used it to his advantage and she was very proud of him for that. He wasn't married yet but he was engaged to a gorgeous witch called Andreia who'd been a Hufflepuf in Ginny's year at school. They'd been together for about two and a half years now and was very much one of them.

Hermione and Ron had realised in a total of about two weeks after the war that they really were better as friends. When they'd attempted a kiss that wasn't in the throes of battle, frankly it was just a little awkward and…well…icky. Childhood crushes were long left behind and after the war, after all they'd been through anything that wasn't entirely platonic had vanished without trace.

Settled at the little table on her patio overlooking her lovely little garden, with just the right amount of plants and flowers surrounding a little lawn, Hermione dialled Harry.

"Hey Hermione! How's it going? All settled?"

"Hi Harry. Yeah I'm all unpacked now. Sorry, are you at work, I forgot its Saturday?"

"It's ok, the shop's still quiet at the minute. Anyway, forget that…what's it like there? Is it weird being back in the muggle world?"

Hermione smiled at how excited Harry sounded for her. "Oh Harry, it's amazing! You have to come and visit soon, Ginny would love it here as well. There's a crystal shop in the village and she'd practically buy the entire shop!" Harry laughed as he could well imagine that given his wife's penchant for shopping.

"How about not next weekend but the one after? We should be able to stay the whole weekend then. But obviously if we get the chance to apperate by for tea in the meantime, we will." Harry and Hermione always met up whenever possible. Ron met with them as often as he could too but it wasn't as regular because his job was so unpredictable.

"Of course, you can come whenever you like! Just call first to make sure I'm in." They spoke a little longer, Harry telling her that it was better to text Ron than call as promised as he'd been called off to a job in Scotland somewhere late last night.

After they hung up Hermione had some lunch and headed out to the front of the cottage where her car sat on her small driveway. She slowed as she gently edged the nose past the hedge that partially blocked her little sanctuary from view, not wanting to mow anyone down. As she looked to check for oncoming traffic her heart nearly stopped as she laid eyes on a tall, blonde haired man walking down the path from her left.

Draco Malfoy.

.Malfoy.

Draco Malfoy has been a missing person for the last 6 years and now he was strolling down the road of a remote muggle village as though he belonged there. Her muggle village no less! She stared at him absolutely astounded as he drew closer. She was temporarily unable to move or even think, but jolted back to herself pretty quickly, she was Hermione Granger after all. There were two choices, either stay where she was and let him see her or move quickly, let him pass, leave the car and follow him.

She pulled out before he got close enough to see her, turning to het left instead of her right, so she could pull up almost instantly and he wouldn't see unless he happened to turn back. He didn't turn back and after a quick dillusionment charm she hopped out of the car and followed as quietly as she could.

There was no denying it, Malfoy had continued to grow into his looks since the last time she'd seen him, which was in the Daily Prophet about six months after the final battle. The details of his trial had largely been kept out of the paper but Harry had stood to testify that he'd lowered his wand when facing Dumbledore. This combined with his young age and the fact that Lucius had denounced both Draco and Narcissa, implying their allegiance was not truly to Voldemort, led to him only spending a year in Azkaban. Narcissa escaped with a year's house arrest and regular Ministry spot checks of both the house and her wand for as long as they saw fit.

Draco crossed the road and Hermione crept closer to him as they neared the square but suddenly he turned to his left and through a doorway. A quick glance above the doorway told Hermione that it was a veterinary surgery. "What?!" she mumbled to herself, utterly bemused by this point. She crept closer and thanked all the Gods for the warm weather when she heard Draco's voice travelling from an open window.

"Peter, I've been up to Mrs Greens and checked on Frosty and she's healing up nicely."

"Ah that's wonderful news Draco," came a voice that Hermione assumed must belong to the man named Peter. It was a kindly voice, not unreminiscent of her fathers she noted with a sad smile. "What about Mrs Green? Is she managing ok?"

"Well she says she is, as always but she seems more and more unsteady on her feet every time I see her. She was pleased with the lasagne I took her though. I think she knows we both know it's never the leftovers that I pretend it is but it makes her feel less helpless to keep up the façade," there was a gentle tone to Draco's voice that Hermione had never heard before.

"You're a good man Draco, we're very lucky to have you around here."

"Well I don't know about that but thank you Peter, I appreciate the sentiment. I'm just going to check on everyone out the back."

"Ok, great, thank you."

Hermione stood with her back to the wall in absolute paralysed shock. Draco Malfoy was working as a vet in a muggle village?! How on earth could this be true. She started walking back up the road in a daze, heading back to where she'd left her car. It was only when she reached out to open the door that she realised she was still under the disolusionment charm. She dashed across the road and behind her hedge before ending the charm, scalding herself as it dawned on her how careless she'd been getting out of her car while under the charm. What if someone had seen the car door open on its own from though their window! She'd been so shocked to see Malfoy she'd dropped the ball and that irritated her as she _never_ dropped the ball. Oh well, what was done was done, she'd just have to hope for the best.

She went back across the road and drove towards the nearby town, Swanage, and found the supermarket. It looked like a wonderful town and she was dying to explore it but her mind was not in the right place right now. It was lucky she had a shopping list to follow or she wouldn't have had a chance of getting the half of what she needed. Her mind was unable to think of anything besides Draco Malfoy and it had been years since that was the case!

So okay, she'd always been a little fascinated with Draco Malfoy. She wouldn't call it a crush as such…she just wouldn't. End of. Yes he was very handsome but that was beside the point. She was only fascinated by him because she always had the feeling that things weren't all they seemed with him. It was obviously nothing to do with how he looked.

She shook her head and picked up a punnet of strawberries and popped them in her trolley before continuing with her list. Somehow she made it through her shopping and got home again. As she cooked herself dinner she pondered the situation. She really had always believed Draco wasn't the epitome of evil. Even when he'd bullied her and made her cry, something in her gut told her that he was even less happy than she was. As time went on, she'd been unable to believe that he was a twisted evil Death Eater. Of course she knew absolutely nothing, these were gut feelings and as a rule she didn't follow her gut. She followed her brain. There was very little evidence that he wasn't exactly what everyone believed him to be and what little evidence there was, was entirely open to interpretation.

Hermione leaned back against her kitchen counter with a heavy sigh. Coming here, it was meant to provide her with a sanctuary. A place to escape all that the war had turned her life into. Now, not even twenty-four bloody hours after arriving she was thrown into something huge and very perturbing. Maybe it was the universe teaching her that you just can't escape some things, that they become part of you and will follow you wherever you go. Maybe she just had really shitty luck. One thing was for certain, tomorrow she was going to speak to Draco Malfoy.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N-Thank you so much for all the encouragement, reviews and favourites/follows you've already given this story. I'm so, so excited that you like it.

Chapter 2

Hermione awoke early the next morning. She'd taken a vial of Dreamless Sleep Draught knowing she wouldn't sleep well otherwise. Heading straight to the kitchen for coffee she thought over the day ahead. It was Sunday and she doubted the vet's surgery would be open so cornering him there wasn't an option, unfortunately. The simplest solution was to walk through the village, past every house and cottage - thank the gods it wasn't a big village - until she found the residence that was vibrating with magic. Malfoy's house would almost certainly have wards on it. If for any reason that didn't work then she'd think of plan B later. For now, she just needed to get ready and get on with her plan as it was.

The bathroom in her little home was decorated in perfect keeping with the rest of the cottage, cream walls, with white bathroom fittings, the bath itself being large and freestanding and a small walk-in shower as well. She had been very pleased when she found the cottage that it had all been freshly decorated, all the walls cream, new beige carpets and it was perfectly acceptable to leave as it was, just adding colour here and there as she fancied. To be honest if she'd needed to decorate somewhere she'd have done it exactly this way. Maybe she'd add a splash of red to the chimney breast soon. The kitchen was her favourite room, one of the largest as it served as a dining room as well and Hermione had found a beautiful oak table that was perfect for it and matched the countertops. The cupboards were of course cream and she was planning to add a little pale muted green paint in places to the walls.

As she stepped out of the shower and padded barefoot back to her bedroom she felt a surge of nerves run through her. If she let herself think about it too much she was aware that it was a slightly terrifying prospect. Chances are that Malfoy would not be pleased to be found by anyone, least of all her! He had gone missing for a reason, and he clearly did not want to be found. What if he were the Death Eater everyone believed him to be - he could just kill her on sight. "Come on now, pretty sure Voldemort didn't have a side job as vet," she muttered, scolding herself for being ridiculous. She had realised last night that if the life Malfoy was now living was as it appeared to be, then this was yet more evidence that the wizarding world had been wrong about him.

She pulled on her favourite faded skinny jeans and black V-neck top with a knee length, lacy thin black cardigan over the top. Finishing the look with a crystal necklace (she'd have to remember that she could look it up in her new book now), some feathered earrings and a little light make up Hermione was happy. She used her wand to dry and de-frizz her hair and left it loose, it was a little darker nowadays at Ginny's suggestion, and Hermione quickly realised she loved it that way.

Hermione headed down towards the village first, she knew it wasn't one of the roadside houses between hers and the village or she'd have noticed it yesterday, but there were lots of little roads off of the main street on both this side and the far side of the square that she had yet to explore. It would give her the opportunity to look around the village some more, too.

An hour later, with a takeaway Mocha in hand, Hermione found what she was looking for. A short way past the square was a little path surrounded by greenery that looked as though it ran between two houses. It would almost go unnoticed if you weren't searching for somewhere. The magic could be felt as you approached the gate, only very softly, but it was there. Hermione opened the gate and started down the little path. She hadn't yet reached the ward but could feel from the intensifying magic that she was drawing closer. If she crossed it and notified Malfoy she was there before she was totally ready to face him, she may well regret it so she trod slowly, feeling her way with her magic as she went. After about twenty feet the path opened out onto a lawn and as she neared the end she realised that this was the perimeter of the ward. Craning her neck to see as much as possible, she was somewhat surprised by the amount of flowers surrounding the cottage. Surely Draco wouldn't have a garden like this? She could understand lots of well-manicured greenery…but this?

Out of the corner of her eye she caught movement and drew back a little to remain hidden. A stunning blonde rounded the corner of the house, a long pale blue dress billowing around her in the breeze. "No," Hermione murmured in amazement as the woman reached down and pulled what appeared to be a small weed from the edge of a flower bed. Narcissa Malfoy, _the_ Narcissa Malfoy, was pottering around the garden of a tiny cottage, in a tiny village. It was even stranger than what she'd seen of Draco so far and she was having difficulty getting it to compute in her head that this was the Malfoy matriarch, the very same woman who had reigned over the huge and imposing Malfoy Manor.

Hermione began to back away, the idea of being seen by Narcissa a risk that she wasn't about to take. She turned and instantly found herself only feet away from Draco who at some point had made it all the way up the path without her hearing.

"What are you…Granger?" The tiny amount of colour that had been there quickly drained from Draco's face as he stared at her agog for a few seconds. Hermione stood like a deer caught in headlights. Her plan had gone spectacularly awry and, rather than controlling this meeting, she found herself every bit as unprepared for the way it was turning out as did Draco himself.

"Erm…hi," she chewed her bottom lip while waiting for a response.

"What the fuck are you doing here? Spying on us for the Ministry no doubt? Well don't worry, we've kept…"

"The Ministry?!" Hermione cut him off, sounding instantly more sure of herself. "You think I work for the Ministry? I'm a teacher!"

"Well of course if you don't work for the Ministry you're a teacher, as if you were ever going to be anything other than one of those two," there was the sneer she remembered so well. "Hogwarts is a long way from here though, Granger…"

"Never mind that, what the hell are you doing here? You've been missing for six years and now you're a vet in a tiny little village?!"

"Would you stop cutting me off! It's most impolite. As is the fact that you've clearly been following me," Draco paused to glare at her before continuing, "Anyway, I'd have thought the answer was obvious as, from the way it seems, you're out here doing exactly the same."

"And what's that?" Hermione drew herself up to her full and remarkably unimpressive height, awaiting his answer.

"Escaping," he looked her square in the eye, challenging her. "Go on, tell me I'm wrong."

She stared at him aghast. Dammit if he hadn't sussed her in seconds. She may have been the brightest witch of her age but she'd forgotten just what a close second he came. He'd put the clues together while they spoke and then called her on it. Of course, she realised now that he probably knew, especially in a small village like this, that an outsider was moving into one of the cottages. It hardly took a rocket scientist to join the dots after she showed up, did it.

Before she could continue he went on, "What's the matter, life in The Golden Trio not treating you so well? You'll forgive me if I can't sympathise," the last part almost becoming a growl.

Sudden hurt and anger burning through her, Hermione pushed her way past Draco, heading back in the direction of the village.

"I've built a life here Granger! I won't let you destroy it." Draco's voice didn't rise but the harsh intensity of it did. "Stay away from my mother."

Hermione broke into a run as soon as she turned out of his sight. She didn't stop until she'd reached her back door and sunk down to the kitchen tiles, her breath coming hard and fast.

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Draco stood staring after her, trying to keep his breathing under control. He'd held it together when they were face to face but now she'd gone he could feel the world trying to drown him. How could this happen? How could she be here? How could she take away his sanctuary? Everything he'd tried to forget, everything he'd tried to move past, it was all closing in on him, all at once…it was all coming back.

Turning his back on his mother's house, because he didn't want to see her right now as he had no idea if or what he would tell her about this and was immensely thankful that somehow she hadn't heard them, he slowly started walking towards the street.

As he trod the path back towards his own small cottage, a little way further down the road, he fought the urge to give in to all the thoughts and feelings that were trying to assault him. He'd come this far, he wouldn't let the mere presence of Granger throw him completely off kilter. What he'd told her wastrue, he had built a life here. This was who he was now and the reminder of who he had been didn't change that. He had to hold on to that.

But how? How, when he would be reminded every time he saw her? Maybe it was time to start facing who he had been, accepting his past rather than pretending it didn't exist. Maybe that way he could fully move on with his life, for the first time ever, not constantly trying to smother down the memories. She'd never let him though, would she! All the time she was here, she'd treat him as though he was the epitome of evil. How could he possibly make his peace with the past when that was the case?!

Yet…she hadn't, had she! It dawned on him that whilst she hadn't exactly run to him with open arms and smiles filled with glee, she also hadn't treated him the way he would have expected if he'd ever considered how such a scenario would play out. Of course he hadn't thought of such a thing, in fact he'd forced himself to forget about her, along with the rest of the world he'd left behind, many years ago. She was here to escape too, he knew it even before he put it to her and her reaction had confirmed it. She'd probably been just as horrified to find him here, in the place she'd chosen as her own sanctuary as he was to find her here. What on earth had made her want to escape anyway? He thought he knew the answer to this one even as he was still thinking the question. She'd never been one to stand on show, to be put on a pedestal, he'd watched her closely enough for years at school to know this. It must have finally been too much for her. Maybe, just maybe, they didn't have to be part of what destroyed the other anymore.

Somehow whilst all of this had been going through his head he'd managed to get home, make a cup of tea and was standing overlooking his garden before he even realised what he was doing. He took his tea to the garden which was, thanks to his mother, very well kept. It had dozens of plants and trees in every shade of green along with a few red Acers, which were his favourite, dotted about in between. He loved the way the green and the red looked together, complimenting each other perfectly.

He let out a sigh as he looked over his mother's work of art. She was of great concern to him in this new twist of fate. She'd been doing so well and he thought that after all that had happened, she was finally happy and stable, but would a face from the past send her back into the fragile and unsettled place she'd been for so long?

As he sat there, he knew what he had to do. He had to find out. He had to find out the answers to all his questions, he had to face his fears: to move forward with his life he had to stop being afraid to glance backwards.

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Two hours later Hermione was sitting on a chair in her back garden, reading. She'd sat on the floor for far longer than was comfortable, trying to work out all she'd seen since she arrived. Getting to a point where her thoughts were beginning to make little sense to her anymore, and most definitely far too confused to work out her next step, she decided that she had to switch off for a while. Reboot her brain and come back to the matter with a fresh mind a little later. Of course she chose to do this by reading.

She was just getting to a good bit of her book, having been convinced by Ginny some years ago now that it's ok to indulge in fiction from time to time and not all reading had to be educational, when she heard her doorbell ring. Rather than going through the cottage she walked down the side and was only half surprised to see Draco standing on her doorstep. After all, no one else in the village knew her so it was unlikely anyone else would be visiting her.

"Hello," she called out, curious, albeit wary. Draco jumped a bit and spun round to face her.

"Hi." He shuffled his feet a little before continuing. "Look, I'm sorry I was so abrupt earlier but it was a huge shock to find you here, as I'm sure you can understand." Hermione nodded slowly. He continued "I was wondering, I'm not sure how long you've been here but I'm guessing not long, have you had a chance to walk down to the Dancing Ledge yet?" Hermione was once again thrown through a loop by this, The Dancing Ledge was a pool blown out of the rocks in the cliffs about a mile from the village and it was on her priority list of places to see when she arrived. Obviously her plans had been thrown more than a little off track and she hadn't yet had the chance. Draco's asking implied that…no, surely not?

She shook her head, "Erm…no, not yet."

"If you'd like, I thought perhaps we could take a walk down there? That is, if you're not too busy of course," he rushed on uncomfortably. She couldn't believe he was actually asking her to do something with him. It did cross her mind that perhaps he was just trying to get her alone and vulnerable, but then she realised that, if he wanted to kill her, he'd had ample opportunity already that day. That left only one way forward really…she was going to go for a walk with Draco Malfoy.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Firstly I'm sorry this has taken a little longer than anticipated to post but frankly real life can have a really inconvenient habit of interfering with fantasy life sometimes and apparently, or so I'm told, real life is more important. Don't even get me started on how much I haven't had time to read. I am just managing to keep up with The Princess and The Pariah by TheMourningMadam though, and if you aren't already reading this you really should! However, here is chapter 3. I really love this one and I'm super excited about it!

Chapter 3:

Hermione pulled the front door shut behind her, having returned inside for her keys. She was nervous now. It seemed scarier that Draco was being civil to her than it would have if they'd been screaming at each other. She knew contempt between them, she was an expert in it, anything less and she was completely out of her comfort zone.

She reached Draco's side at the end of her little driveway and they started walking together back towards the village in silence.

"It's beautiful here, isn't it," Hermione broke the silence, unable to stand it for too long. She was right though, the village in front of them and the rolling Dorset hills to their left were indeed beautiful .

"Yes." It appeared small talk wasn't going to break the ice then. Hermione sighed at his short response. "I'm sorry," he blurted, "I don't like you being here, I don't know how to deal with it."

"But…then why did you ask me…"she trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence, equally unsure of what was going on.

"I don't like it because it's shaken up the comfortable life I'd built here," he motioned for her to turn right as they walked, down one of the roads she'd been down that morning when looking for his house. "Then all of a sudden, you turn up out of nowhere and the life I'd left behind feels like it's all around me again. It's nothing personal to you." He slowed for a second, eyes trained on the ground, "That's why I asked you to come out with me. Because it's not your fault, I don't blame you. I realised it must have been a pretty nasty shock for you too, to find me here."

Hermione was quiet a moment before responding, "I'm sorry too. I didn't like you sussing me out so quickly earlier and I can't expect you to understand the reasons I needed to get away. I shouldn't have stormed off like that," They walked through a small gate on their left at the end of the road, taking them to a pathway along the edge of a field of sheep. "I was shocked too, I came here to get away and I hadn't even been here twenty-four hours before I saw you, and then to find your mother as well when I was coming to talk to you. It was all a bit much."

Draco nodded slowly and they continued in silence a little longer but this time it didn't feel quite so uncomfortable. They reached the top of the field, going through a much larger gate this time and across a chalk path before entering another gate, another field.

"Why don't you hate me?" Hermione faltered for a second at the unexpected directness of his question. He looked away uneasily and continued before she could answer, "Well, you don't seem to anyway but maybe I'm wrong." Hermione's heart contracted slightly when she realised how nervous and unsure of himself he was.

"I don't hate you," she started. "I can't hate you. The very little I've seen of you since I arrived here is enough to show me that I don't even know you." She paused, wondering if she should say what she was really thinking. Sod it, she was a Gryffindor, wasn't she. "The truth is, I'm not that surprised to find out that I don't know you. I mean, I am but…" she was wringing her hands by this point, not sure how to say what she was trying to and wishing she'd kept her mouth shut.

"Let's sit for a minute, shall we?" Draco gestured in front of him and she looked forward to notice for the first time that the landscape had changed. The fields had begun to slope into hills and from where they sat at the crest of them the sea was laid out at the bottom of the hills, an endless expanse ahead of them.

She nodded and sat, bringing her knees up to her chest. Draco did the same and this was the first time she'd noticed what he was wearing, dark blue jeans with a black t-shirt. Plain and simple, but somehow, on Draco, it still looked smart and refined.

"What were you trying to say?" he prompted.

"Ok…obviously finding you living in a little muggle village, working as a vet was in one way a huge surprise. I mean…"she shrugged apologetically and he nodded his understanding. "When we were at school, I always felt, no matter what a git you were, no matter what you did as time went on…I could never shake the feeling that something was off, like a piece of the puzzle missing. I could never put my finger on it and didn't even really acknowledge it, but I suppose I'm just saying that I'm not really surprised that you're not who I thought. It makes sense that you're not. Now I get what felt off. Does that make any sense?"

Draco stared at her in amazement before simply nodding and turning to look out towards the sea. She chewed her bottom lip while trying to work out what he was thinking but he didn't look angry so she figured it couldn't be too bad.

Suddenly he jumped up to his feet. "Come on," he held out a hand to help her up. She stared at it for a second before taking it, feeling as though she'd been electrocuted when she did. He let her hand go once she was up and began walking again. There was some greenery around them now but before long it cleared leaving nothing but a huge steep hill in front of them, leading down to what must have been the cliff edge at the bottom. It was the kind of hill that made Hermione want to start running down it, fear of not being able to stop being the only thing that held her back.

"You want to run, don't you?" She hadn't realised Draco was watching her.

"How did you know?"

"Because I'm pretty sure that was the look on my face when I first got to here and I definitely wanted to run," he told her with a gentle laugh. "Don't worry, you can stop, if all else fails there's a fence at the bottom but it levels out before that."

She looked apprehensively between Draco and the fence that she couldn't even see at the bottom and before she knew it he'd grabbed her hand and started running. She screeched with shock and laughter, having no choice but to run with him. They picked up speed fast and it was difficult for their feet to keep up with the rate at which gravity was propelling them down the hill. They laughed the entire way and as they neared the bottom and the ground began to level out, Draco slowed and when Hermione could not, he pulled her back. She span into him, their hands still joined, unexpectedly coming face to face with one another. They stepped back quickly, their laughter halted in its tracks for a second, before Hermione pulled herself back together. "That was definitely not the first time you've done that!"

He threw his head back and laughed with her, "Nope, but it was the first time I've done it with someone else. Usually I just do it when there isn't another soul in sight." He nodded towards the little gate in the fence a few yards behind them, "Come on." Draco lead the way through the gate and down the steps forged out of the chalk cliffs. There was a bit of a climb at the bottom to get to the ledge where the pool lay, and Hermione let Draco help guide her feet into the right footholds. "You'll get used to doing it in no time," he told her and, as he'd taken barely seconds to get down, she could see just how regularly he was here.

"You come here a lot, don't you," it was a statement, not a question.

"Won't you?" She immediately understood what he was saying. Who on earth wouldn't come to such a place often if they could. She turned to face out towards the sea, nodding slowly. After a moment she pulled out her wand, transfigured her jeans into shorts and moved to the water's edge.

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Draco was unable to look away as her jeans turned to shorts and the back of her tanned and perfectly toned legs were exposed to his view. She was undeniably beautiful even when she was fully covered but as he looked upon the bare skin on the back of her thighs he became quite certain that what he'd seen was only a glimmer of her full beauty. As she sat down and her legs disappeared from view Draco mentally shook himself. He'd always been aware that she was beautiful, growing more and more into her looks with age. By this point she was truly breath-taking. He moved to follow her lead, transfiguring his own jeans and taking a seat beside her.

"I want to know who you are." Her words sent a thrill of fear through him. Partly because he'd never known anyone who cared who he was before, and partly because he'd never wanted anyone to know who he really was. Until now.

"I want you to know too. But I don't know how." He felt his eyes drop to the ground between them as he finished speaking. Even that confession was more open and honest than he was used to being. Without warning Hermione reached out and laid her hand over his. Draco felt his stomach jolt as he experienced the same feeling of being electrocuted that he had earlier when he'd taken her hand to help her up. It was intensified now by the knowledge that this time it was a gesture made entirely by choice rather than to serve a purpose. Slowly he raised his eyes to meet Hermione's.

"I know. I know you don't. But that's ok. I can help you," Hermione bit her lip nervously, "If you want me to," she finished.

"I don't understand though. I mean, I know what you said earlier but," he paused, trying to find the right words, "how are you even able to consider looking past the things I've done?"

"I can't explain it. I…just…it's just a feeling." Draco's heart melted a little as he watched her stumble to find her words. "Like an instinct that I can't ignore. An instinct that increasingly seems to be backed up with logic, with every moment since I found you here." Very slowly he turned his hand over in hers so that they were now holding hands.

"I want to know you too," Draco told her.

"I'd like that," she smiled tentatively down at their joined hands.

Draco's heart leapt and he felt consumed by more hope than he'd felt in as long as he could remember. He felt light in a way that he didn't recognise, but it felt amazing, if a little scary. He decided to embrace it before the fear got the better of him. "You can swim, right, Granger?" he asked with a mischievous smirk that was beyond his control.

"Erm…yeah?!" Hermione looked a little taken aback and considerably more so when Draco reached forward, wrapped an arm tight around her waist and pulled them both, fully dressed, into the water. She screamed with surprise and then joined in with Draco's gleeful laughter.

"What in the…hell?!" Hermione managed through her laughter. Her hair was soaking, as was every inch of her and her face sparkled with sheer delight.

Draco knew in that moment that he would stop the world from spinning if that's what it took to make her his. This beautiful, incredible gift that had been given to him when she stumbled into his sanctuary, he was going to grasp it with both hands. He hadn't been given many gifts in his life and, whilst part of him screamed that he didn't deserve this one, the new, hopeful part of him battered those feelings down in favour of the idea that just maybe he could find the happiness he'd always wanted. The kind of life he could have had if he'd been born into any other life. Just maybe he could make it right. Maybe here, in his sanctuary, he could make it work. Maybe it could become their sanctuary, together.

"What, I did check you could swim first?!"

"Fine, have it your way!" The next thing he knew, she had swum under the water, grabbing one his legs and pulling it up behind him and causing him to land face forward in the water. As he righted himself he turned to face Hermione and found her face alight with triumph.

"Oh now you've asked for it," he warned before launching towards her.

The next thirty minutes were spent playing together in the water, splashing, dunking, and generally acting like overgrown children. Draco laughed more than he ever had and he had the feeling it was the most that Hermione had laughed in a long time as well.

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Hermione had laughed more in the last half an hour than she had in longer than she could remember and she wondered if Draco had ever laughed as much. She held herself up on the side of the pool, breathless from their play fights in the water and the endless laughing. It had occurred to her that she probably looked frightful, with her hair stuck to her face and her make-up, she was fairly certain, smeared all over her face. In that moment though, she didn't care. She felt so free and excited that, right then, she didn't care about anything.

"Granger, you're a mess. You really should take better care of yourself, you know." Draco raised his eyebrows at her in mock disgust and Hermione rolled her eyes in return. She was deliriously happy to see this side of Draco. She'd known it was in there but never dreamed for a second that she'd get to see it, let alone so soon. She knew, there was still a lot of ground to cover, still many stories to be told and pains to be shared, but she felt safe in the knowledge that all that would come to pass and, for now, she was happy to just enjoy this moment. She'd earned it, in fact, they both had.

"Well I'm dreadfully sorry, how on earth can you stand to look at me?!"

"It's a trial, but I suppose I can manage for a little longer," Draco heaved a dramatic sigh. "I really do expect you to clean up before I take you to dinner tonight, though. I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

"That's awfully presumptuous of you Draco Malfoy, but then I shouldn't expect much more from a man of your mighty arrogance." Hermione could easily give as good as she got.

"Ok, how about this," Draco's voice turned quiet and it gave Hermione goose bumps from head to toe. "Hermione, would you allow me to take you to dinner tonight?" Between the caressing whisper of his voice and his use of her first name, she was rendered entirely speechless and could do little more than grin shyly and nod.


End file.
